For years, the question, “Who is a Jew?” has been the subject of many debates between Orthodox and Liberal Jews, primarily in Israel. At the center of the debate are the conversions overseen by Reform and Conservative rabbis. The controversy begins when their converts or Jews-by-Choice come to Israel, seeking to enter according to the Law of Return, which permits any Jew in the world to return to Israel, the Jewish homeland, and secure immediate citizenship. Since Israel’s birth in 1948, the Orthodox have held the power over all religious matters regarding burial, marital issues, the status of immigrants, and who is or is not Jewish.
For decades, the liberal branches of Judaism have sought equal status in Israel. They have sought recognition of their converts and the right to perform marriages. There has been some movement to accept Reform and Conservative converts and marriages, but the progress has been delayed and sabotaged. The Orthodox do not want to relinquish their power and the right to answer the question, “Who is a Jew?”
In reality, the question “Who is a Jew?” has been a mask used to cover up the real question, “Who is a rabbi?” To the Orthodox, only an Orthodox rabbi can make a “kosher” conversion, but they have argued even amongst themselves. Within the Orthodox communities, only Orthodox rabbis from certain yeshivas and communities can officiate. You see the dilemma.
In recent days, the Israel Religious Action Center, the legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, reported that Israel’s High Court has ordered the state (Israel) to provide equal funding to Reform and Conservative Jewish conversion institutes as it does to Orthodox Jews, a decision it is reported, “that could shatter the exclusive control of Israel’s Orthodox rabbinate over Jewish religious affairs.” The unanimous decision is the first time Israel’s High Court has decided on the issue of equality in state funding of religious services. It is considered to be a harbinger of religious freedoms in Israel.
You’re probably asking, isn’t Israel a place for all Jews? In truth, the Reform and Conservative movements, despite their long-standing presence in Israel, have had no official recognition in Israel. But, this week’s decision is an enormous step on the path of ending the Orthodox monopoly in Israel. Our joy should not be about the destruction of Orthodoxy in Israel, but about the possibility for Jewish pluralism in Israel. The Reform and Conservative movements are the largest movements in America and elsewhere in the world; they should be fairly represented and funded in the Jewish homeland. Our rabbis’ conversions and marriages should be recognized not only in America, but also, and most especially, in Israel, where Israelis are also training in our Reform seminary to serve the liberal movement in Israel. In addition, the High Court’s decision can open the way for the government to give wages to Reform and Conservatives rabbis in the same way they have always given wages to Orthodox rabbis.
As American Jews we understand pluralism and the right to be recognized for our personal and private choices. In Israel, it simply hasn’t been the same, despite our long-held beliefs about the Land. Now, we have reason to be encouraged. If the decision is upheld and its purpose takes root, then we should come to enjoy in Israel, what we have always learned in Torah, (Deuteronomy 29), “You stand here this day, all of you before the Lord your God, to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God… I make this covenant… not with you, alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day… and with those who are not with us here this day.” The High Court’s decision upholds our understanding of Torah for us and for those who will join us.
From my desk to yours, Shabbat Shalom.
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